Would you shoot if you didn't call him in?

[jb1069]

The guy going to the woods without calls would definitely be at the biggest disadvantage in my opinion. So does this make him the better hunter or a slob for stalking? I bet not many have left home without calls on purpose.

I agree this isn't deer hunting but I find it laughable that generally a guy that can stalk up within bow range of a deer is considered a good hunter with great woods skills. If the same guy stalks up within range of a turkey, that has eyes like an eagle, then he is lessoning the hunt and not respecting the game.

I see bowhunting and turkey hunting closely related. Its about getting close to your game. That is the rush to me. Wether you call it in or stalk it. How close can you get without being detected. Both tactics accomplish this and both are legal most places. Enjoy the hunt however you choose.

[Paulmyr]

The guy going to the woods without calls would definitely be at the biggest disadvantage in my opinion. So does this make him the better hunter or a slob for stalking? I bet not many have left home without calls on purpose.

I agree this isn't deer hunting but I find it laughable that generally a guy that can stalk up within bow range of a deer is considered a good hunter with great woods skills. If the same guy stalks up within range of a turkey, that has eyes like an eagle, then he is lessoning the hunt and not respecting the game.

I see bowhunting and turkey hunting closely related. Its about getting close to your game. That is the rush to me. Wether you call it in or stalk it. How close can you get without being detected. Both tactics accomplish this and both are legal most places. Enjoy the hunt however you choose.

I can see where your coming from, personally I've never tried it on turkeys. I'd buy the deer comparison a little more if the deer was growling every few minutes letting me know exactly where he was.

[Zobo]

The guy going to the woods without calls would definitely be at the biggest disadvantage in my opinion. So does this make him the better hunter or a slob for stalking? I bet not many have left home without calls on purpose.

I agree this isn't deer hunting but I find it laughable that generally a guy that can stalk up within bow range of a deer is considered a good hunter with great woods skills. If the same guy stalks up within range of a turkey, that has eyes like an eagle, then he is lessoning the hunt and not respecting the game.

I see bowhunting and turkey hunting closely related. Its about getting close to your game. That is the rush to me. Wether you call it in or stalk it. How close can you get without being detected. Both tactics accomplish this and both are legal most places. Enjoy the hunt however you choose.

I can see where your coming from, personally I've never tried it. I'd buy the deer comparison a little more if the deer was growling every few minutes letting me know exactly where he was.

Right. The distinction is that stalking deer is much safer because people generally don't sit on the ground pretending they are a doe, with buck and doe decoys right in front of them. However, almost all turkey hunters are on the ground mimicking hens and gobblers, many with decoys. So all it takes is one trigger happy stalker ....it happens every season that's why it's illegal in some states. BIG difference between bow hunting deer and turkey hunting.

[jb1069]

The guy going to the woods without calls would definitely be at the biggest disadvantage in my opinion. So does this make him the better hunter or a slob for stalking? I bet not many have left home without calls on purpose.

I agree this isn't deer hunting but I find it laughable that generally a guy that can stalk up within bow range of a deer is considered a good hunter with great woods skills. If the same guy stalks up within range of a turkey, that has eyes like an eagle, then he is lessoning the hunt and not respecting the game.

I see bowhunting and turkey hunting closely related. Its about getting close to your game. That is the rush to me. Wether you call it in or stalk it. How close can you get without being detected. Both tactics accomplish this and both are legal most places. Enjoy the hunt however you choose.

I can see where your coming from, personally I've never tried it on turkeys. I'd buy the deer comparison a little more if the deer was growling every few minutes letting me know exactly where he was.

I agree with you on that. A gobbling turkey does give away his location for the stalker if he is gobbling.
A deer also has his nose to help him making the stalk harder for the hunter. But I have had more accidental or stalking encounters with deer than I ever have had with turkeys. A deer's curiosity will get him killed many times. Where as with the turkeys one wrong eye blink can end the game in
a hurry. I just think its funny we hold each activity in different regards. I like both methods on turkeys and feel rewarded however it plays out.

[jb1069]

The guy going to the woods without calls would definitely be at the biggest disadvantage in my opinion. So does this make him the better hunter or a slob for stalking? I bet not many have left home without calls on purpose.

I agree this isn't deer hunting but I find it laughable that generally a guy that can stalk up within bow range of a deer is considered a good hunter with great woods skills. If the same guy stalks up within range of a turkey, that has eyes like an eagle, then he is lessoning the hunt and not respecting the game.

I see bowhunting and turkey hunting closely related. Its about getting close to your game. That is the rush to me. Wether you call it in or stalk it. How close can you get without being detected. Both tactics accomplish this and both are legal most places. Enjoy the hunt however you choose.

I can see where your coming from, personally I've never tried it. I'd buy the deer comparison a little more if the deer was growling every few minutes letting me know exactly where he was.

Right. The distinction is that stalking deer is much safer because people generally don't sit on the ground pretending they are a doe, with buck and doe decoys right in front of them. However, almost all turkey hunters are on the ground mimicking hens and gobblers, many with decoys. So all it takes is one trigger happy stalker ....it happens every season that's why it's illegal in some states. BIG difference between bow hunting deer and turkey hunting.

Trying to make laws for people not identifying their target is a totally different conversation. Is it always the trigger happy stalker making the mistake or is it sometimes the guys in the blind shooting at movement? Either way that is just bad hunting and no law will ever prevent all accidents.

[GobbleNut]

I agree this isn't deer hunting but I find it laughable that generally a guy that can stalk up within bow range of a deer is considered a good hunter with great woods skills. If the same guy stalks up within range of a turkey, that has eyes like an eagle, then he is lessoning the hunt and not respecting the game.

Not me!  I think everybody (else) ought to hunt turkeys by trying to stalk them and try shooting them with a bow.  That way, there would be a LOT more gobblers out there for me to call up!  Go for it!   

[Mossyguy]

I shoot if I'm excited...

Last season I watched a bird for over an hour at 70 yards...he had no intention of getting any closer but he gobbled more times that I could count and stayed puffed up. Once he was done he moved to the north and I knew where he was headed. I could have got in front of him but I told myself since I couldn't call him in I would let him walk and try another day. I never did get that bird but it was one of the more enjoyable hunts I'd ever been on.

I shot a bird a few years ago that showed up about an hour after I last called( I fell asleep). I woke up to the bird walking towards me at 60 yards. He wasn't really looking for a hen...I just happened to be in his path of travel and I flopped him at 20 yards. He got my adrenaline going and he never made a sound.

Maybe I'm just weird....

[Kytomgetter]

Absolutely I would. I don't get much time to hunt and here in Ky it's a one bird limit per day

[Gooserbat]

Yes.  I love to call turkeys, but I also love to hunt turkeys.  Calling is an effective method and my preference but its not the only way to get into range and sometimes you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

[aclawrence]

If you're walking through the leaves your feet may have called him in. I'm usually calling as I walk around anyway. Honestly seeing how I usually hunt my butt off and may have not killed a bird all season I would have considered myself as earning the freebie.


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[Haypatch]

It's situational for me! Most of the time i probably would shoot him!  I do enjoy beating one and calling him to gun more than ANYTHING but if my woodsmanship puts me in position to kill one i'll take that some times also!

[Ihuntoldschool]

Okay. The only nitwit that's replied to this post is the one calling everyone a nitwit. 

[capecodmike]

for me the chase is the most exciting part of the hunt.  But I probably wouldn't let the opportunity pass without pulling the trigger (pending circumstances).

[Kyle_Ott]

I don't turkey hunt because I'm hungry.  I don't turkey hunt because I crave wild turkey in my diet.

I turkey hunt because the gobble has captivated me since I was 12 years old and consistently engineering close encounters with turkeys seemed impossible in those days.

While I don't find engineering close encounters with turkeys to be a difficult thing anymore I am still very much captivated by the gobble and close range encounters that I have engineered under terms I deem fair.

For me, the skill required by a hunter to facilitate a "fair chase" encounter is a critical factor relating to whether or not a gobbler should be killed.  I am aware that some folks hunt because they want to eat turkey.  I am aware that many folks struggle to kill turkeys and will capitalize on any opportunity to kill one that presents itself.  That's their prerogative. 

For me, if the turkey was called to the gun or a skillful, strategic move was accomplished to put the bird in gun range, I will kill the turkey (but there are still times where I've made moves on field turkeys and had them in gun range that I just didn't want to punch a tag that way and didn't).

I do not consider inadvertently walking up on a gobbler skillful and I find the idea of killing a gobbler under such circumstances disgusting.
I do not consider flushing a turkey off a roost and shooting him mid-flight skillful and I find it disgusting.
I do not consider sticking a fan in front of one's face and reaping a turkey skillful in any way and I find that irreprehensible. 
(If I took another minute or two to think of and illustrate other scenarios I find offensive, I could but I think you get the gist of where I'm going with my interpretation of fair chase.)

As a turkey hunter, my goal each season is to call more turkeys inside gun range.  Very simply, I want to be more versatile, adaptable and better at critical thinking that I was the season before.  Killing turkeys when inadvertent, opportunistic situations materialize doesn't make me a better hunter and I find zero fulfillment in the proposition of doing so.
So I don't and I don't affiliate with anyone who does.

[Kylongspur88]

Absolutely. I'm not going to shoot a bird I flushed, but if one walks past me and I'm just in the right place at the right time I'm going to shoot him.